


The City So Nice, They Named It Twice

by Kasuchi



Category: The Office (US)
Genre: Elizabeth Halpert, F/M, New York City, Phone Calls & Telephones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-01
Updated: 2008-10-01
Packaged: 2017-12-27 18:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/982285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kasuchi/pseuds/Kasuchi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five moments with Pam in New York City while she does her thing at the Pratt Institute.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The City So Nice, They Named It Twice

**Author's Note:**

> Two parts experiment, one part genuine love, one part flexing old muscles, and one part wonder. SPOILERS FOR "WEIGHT LOSS"

**1\. Brooklyn**

_Hey Pam, it's me. I know you're in class right now, but I just wanted to tell you good luck with everything today. You're gonna be great. Call me later. I want to know every detail. Love you. Bye._

Pam's floor is all upperclassmen, and all singles. When she moves in, Jim gives her a hand in hauling her stuff up to her room, helping her put her room together, and doing the last-minute shopping thing for all the things she's forgotten.

Her first day of classes pass by her in a whirlwind of syllabi and new, paint-spattered teachers. She stands in the center of the main courtyard and looks up, tall buildings making her neck ache. The niggling pain makes her go cross-eyed for a second, and she stumbles while standing still. Shaking her head, she pulls out her cell phone and sees the _New Voicemail_ message on her screen. A moment later, and she hears Jim's voice, soft and warm in her ear, and she smiles.

"Pam, right?"

She looks at the person who's just addressed her, tucking a soft curl behind an ear. She saves the voicemail and hangs up, slipping the phone into her canvas bag. "Yeah. What's up?"

The other girl grins, the line of a retainer just visible at the line of her gums. "I saw you walk out of 2D Design and thought I'd say hi." She pushes trendy, square frames back up her nose, and it makes her freckles stand out.

"Hi," she says, smiling, and her voice is warm. "It's nice to meet you," she adds, shaking the other girl's hand, and she means it.

**2\. Manhattan**

_"I almost envy you getting to spend a day in Manhattan, shopping. Except for the shopping part." Chuckle. "Anyway, I'll call when I can. It's teambuilding activity time." A breath of a laugh. Inhale. "I love you. Bye."_

Her neck aches from craning her head back to see the sky. The buildings are tall and the streets are narrow, but the layout is like a giant square. Rubbing her neck, she tilts her head down and nearly runs smack into someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she starts, a hand on the other person's elbow to keep them from falling.

"Pam?" The other woman's eyebrows rise in recognition, and a wide, familiar grin stretches across her face.

"Liz!" They embrace, and Pam takes a long, hard look at her. The long, curly hair is gone, chopped short into a pixie cut, and the edges are at that stage where they bend into strange cowlicks everywhere.

"How've you been? How's Parson's?"

Liz laughs and pulls Pam to the side, ducking under a low-hanging awning, past a green door. Pam's world refocuses and she finds herself in a small, hole-in-the-wall coffeehouse, walls graffitied and tables nearly all lopsided and rickety. "Sit, sit," Liz gestures, setting down her bag in the chair opposite Pam. She then heads over to the counter and grins, saying something to the barista Pam can't make out. Shaking her head, Pam, settles into the chair (which doesn't match any of the others) and studies Liz.

Despite the haircut, Liz is mostly unchanged. Today she's in a scoop-neck shirt in sage green, the sleeves tight to the elbows where they then turned to lace and puffed out in bells. Under this she wore dark, skinny jeans with quilting patches on the pockets. A pair of green flats and earrings shaped like trees framing her face finished out the look. On her arms were numerous bangles made of glass, plastic, and rubber. Around her neck was a green ascot tied askew.

"Trying to save the planet?" Pam raised and eyebrow and took the proffered coffee, served in large mugs like something from _Friends_.

"Hmm? Oh!" Liz grinned and moved her bag ,settling into her chair. "No, no. Well, yes, but I just felt like wearing green today."

"It looks really good on you," Pam complimented sincerely, and took a sip of the coffee. "Oh my god, this is amazing."

"I know, right? I found this place totally by accident and now I'm hooked. So, why're you in the city? Jim was pretty sketchy with the details."

"I'm doing a summer course at Pratt this summer."

"Oh, how awesome. Pam!"

"Oh please, you're at _Parsons_. How's that going, by the way?"

"I'm almost done, thank God," she replied, rolling her eyes. "I should never have taken that year off."

"Don't say that, you really needed to. Besides, Project Runway sucked that season anyway."

Liz laughs, and Pam can't help but smile at the resemblance. "Well, at least I learned how to knit."

"Exactly." Pam smiles, running a finger along the rim of her mug. "Stay positive."

"Right," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "Because I have time for it."

"Hey, I always wanted to learn."

"Do you want me to teach you?"

"Yeah, with all the free time I have."

"See!"

"I never said you didn't have a valid point."

Liz pouted. "You've been around Jim too long, you know that?"

"Are you saying I'm turning into him?"

She held her thumb and forefinger about a centimeter apart. "A little bit?"

Pam laughed. "Thank you," she said cheerily, taking a drink of her coffee.

**3\. Queens**

_"Hey, so, like, not to bash art school or anything, but drawing sculptures seems self-contradictory somehow. But what do I know? Call me tonight - have I got a story for you. Love you, bye."_

Liz suggests the Unisphere, so Pam heads over to Queens on a Tuesday afternoon, hoping to get the thing in good light. When she arrives, though, she can't resist wandering around for a little while, taking photos of sculptures, some half-hidden in the foliage. However, when she realizes the sun is starting to set, she claims a bench and pulls out her drawing pad, the corners of the front cover already beginning to fray.

She touches the pencil to the paper and for a long while there is only the sound of distant traffic and the pencil scratching against the paper.

When she looks up again, the world is washed in red tones, and the steel framework has taken on a gold hue. Long, dark shadows crawl away from the light, trees and benches stretched tall and thin. Her breath catches.

It's the most beautiful thing she has ever seen.

**4\. The Bronx**

_"Be ready at 8.30. I'll be by to pick you up. I mean it, Beesley!" Pause. "I love you. Bye."_

"So, why are we at a Phillies game again?"

"It's Phillies-Yankees, Pam. Now that your loyalties are divided, you're just going to have to pick."

"Oh okay." She feigns thoughtful consideration. "Well, the Yankees have all that money, so I'm just going to have to go with them."

Jim dramatically places a hand over his heart. "Beesley! You wound me." He cocks an eyebrow. "And does that mean you're only dating me for my money?"

"What can I say? I just dig that 'assistant regional manager' thing. The ten percent pad isn't bad either, you know."

"Ouch. Only ten percent? That's harsh."

She laughs. "I'm sorry. I meant, forty percent."

"And don't you forget it."

A baseball bat cracking echoes in the stadium, quickly drowned out by the roar of the crowd. Jim and Pam surge to their feet, cheering as a Philly heads for second while the other makes a dash for home. He gets tagged out and their corner of the stadium sits back down, a dissatisfied murmur running through it. And they take their seats, Jim takes her hand and laces his fingers with hers. Pam feels warm despite being in the shade.

Later, Jim manages to snag a pop fly. When he tries to offer it to her, she shakes her head and points at an 8-year-old three seats over.

**5\. Staten Island**

_"Will you marry me?"_

She towels off her hair and checks her reflection. She hasn't stopped grinning in hours, but she can't really feel the ache in her cheeks. She swipes the terrycloth through her hair once more before tossing it onto the passenger seat. She turns the key in the ignition and drums her hands against the steering wheel.

She nearly misses her turnoff onto the Verrazano because she's staring at it, grinning stupidly.

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Started pre-premiere, finished post-premiere.
> 
> 2\. I'm taking a hiatus from Office fic. Mostly because the show is going in a direction that I'm satisfied with. Now, how long that hiatus lasts is debateable, but for now I won't be writing Office fic in the forseeable future.
> 
> 3\. TOTALLY UNBETA'ED AT POSTING. Please feel free to point out mistakes.
> 
> 4\. "The city so nice, they named it twice" is from "New York, New York" by Gerard Kenny.
> 
> 5\. I realize that the only canon sibling that Jim has is an unnamed brother, but Liz Halpert is a recurring character from my quasi-universe of Office-dom. She's a fashion design major at the Parson's School of Design, which is where Project Runway is filmed.


End file.
